Unmasked
by deeplyshallow
Summary: Fiyero and Elphaba reveal their secrets. Fiyeraba


**Based a little on one of my 100 word drabbles on my ****joint account, lonely: fanfiction(.)net/s/4988375/3/Wicked_in_100_Words although it is not necessary to read it beforehand.**

**My perception of Fiyero's childhood changes on my mood, but I quite like this version and it does explain his philosophy and his love isn't real line in the San Francisco tryouts in ALAYM.**

* * *

Her eyes were speeding along the page but she was not taking in a word. She was going to the Emerald City tomorrow and could never remember being more nervous – even when she was seven and she'd been sent home from school for magically making her fellow pupil's chair catch fire. She knew the next day could change her life, if she impressed the Wizard she could become the second most important person in Oz, but if she failed – well she supposed she'd just have to get used to helping Nessa again.

Therefore she wasn't particularly pleased when a certain scandalicious prince sat himself next to her, "hey Elphie."

"What?" she snapped.

He looked mildly hurt, "I just thought I'd keep you company."

She scowled, both hadn't mentioned the day with the Lion Cub in the following weeks but she had sensed that something had changed in their tenuous relationship. While before they had bickered friendlily whenever Galinda had forced them together, now they both seemed more awkward around each other and she had started wondering if he had been avoiding her as she had him. When she had been in his presence she'd taken to noticing just how blue his eyes were, and how his smile lit up his face, and that the other girls were for once right that he was rather and attractive, and most of all that when he let his mask of arrogance slip for a second or two she actually quite liked him and it was scaring her terribly.

"Isn't it against your principles or something to enter a library?"

He shrugged, "I need to study and anyway I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now."

She ignored the latter point, she had enough on her mind at the moment, and for some reason Fiyero seemed to be incredibly distracting to her, "why would_ you_ bother studying?" she sneered.

"Well if I don't I probably won't last here much longer," he confessed, "and I rather like this place."

"What do they hold good parties here?" she said dryly, "or is it the pretty girls?" she didn't need to be having this conversation, not today, she was busy couldn't he understand that?

His shoulders slumped, "is that all you think I care about?"

"Have you ever given me any reason to think otherwise? Now can you go away please I want the Wizard to accept me I want my father to be proud of me." She turned back to her book.

"Your father?" he asked.

She glared at him, although she was more annoyed with herself, she was telling him far more than he needed to know – more than she'd told anyone – it was like the day with the Lion Cub all over again, "Yes Fiyero, my father, some people don't have such perfect lives as you."

She turned back to her book, thankful that he did not object, her nervousness returned to her as she continued taking in nothing she was reading.

"You think my life is perfect?" his tone was soft, yet bitter, one she had never heard from him before. She jumped as she had not realised he was still there.

"What?" but her voice was softer this time, looking at him curiously.

He met her eyes "Do you think I want to be this way? Do you think I want to care this little?" He asked, echoing her own words.

Blushing a little that he had heard and remembered her words she replied, "So why do you?"

He paused appearing, to her surprise, to be thinking, "My parents never cared for me," he said finally, "they were far too busy ruling the Vinkus, or going to parties or arguing with each other – their marriage was arranged – they hated each other even more than they hated me, they never had time for their son. Oh I was spoilt," he added, "I got everything I wanted, except love, handed to a nanny as soon as I was born I barely got to see them – wouldn't want to anyway."

She had subconsciously moved closer to him as he was talking and had now, without thinking, rested a hand on his arm. Only then noticing it they looked at it, neither commented, she didn't take it away.

"And then I was chucked out of my first school," he continued, "for reasons I won't go into – although it involved something to do with the teacher's wig and itching powder," he couldn't resist a small grin at the memory, and apparently neither could she, but after a second his face turned serious again, "my father was furious, so much so that he told me off in person, it was the first time I had got attention from him in a long time," he sighed, "needless to say it was not the last school I got kicked out of."

Her eyes widened at his confession, "but surely at the schools, you have friends, girls, at least you could get attention there?"

"Attention, yes," he said darkly, "but Elphaba, would they pay attention to me if I was not for my looks and my status? They all judge me by my outside, no one really cares what I'm like inside."

"Maybe it's because you don't let them see."

"Elphaba, they just don't you don't under…" his words drained out of his mouth as he caught sight of her raised eyebrows and remembered who he was talking to. He chided himself for his stupidity, "Oh, sorry."

She looked down shyly, "don't worry; you're the first person to forget my… condition for a long time – well ever."

"And you're the first person to not care about my outside," he replied, he watched her cheeks turn red and noticed how very pretty she looked, "you know for someone who judges people only by their insides you have a very poor opinion of yourself."

He was rewarded with an even deeper blush, her eyes fell to the ground, then she raised them to his defiantly "Why Master Tiggular I believe you've been thinking."

He grinned, "Why, I believe you're right Miss Elphaba, you've unmasked me."

She smiled moving closer to him, "We're more similar than I thought. Maybe you're not completely shallow."

"It's just about possible," he admitted. He noticed that they were only inches away, he looked away with a nervousness that he would not have had had it been any other girl, his eye caught the book she had been 'reading', "You scared about tomorrow?"

She thought about lying but thought better of it, not after he had been so honest to her, "yes, what happens if the Wizard doesn't think I'm good enough? What would I do then?"

He put his hand on her shoulder, noting her hand was still on his arm, "Elphaba, I've seen you do magic, it's incredible! You'll do fine!"

"But this is the Wizard – he has his own talent – I won't be anything compared to him…"

"Do you ever let anyone else speak!" but he was smiling, "you'd have to be really stupid to think the Wizard wouldn't accept you, and you already told me I wasn't _really_ stupid – so I must be right."

She frowned at his logic but didn't comment. "But what if I do get it?" she protested, "and the Ozians, only like me because I'm important?"

"Elphaba, no, that won't happen. This will let them see the real you and they'll love you for who you truly are."

"But what if they don't? What if they only see what they've always seen? Or what if they don't like the real me? I don't much. I'll be the laughing stock of the city! The green clown of Oz…" she looked up at him, scared, innocent and he realised he was not the only one who had let down their defences. The hand that was on his arm was now gripping his shirt in fear, and she looked like she was about to scarper – just like he had the day with the Lion Cub.

_We're not going through that again, _he thought, and shocking even himself he closed the small distance between them.

It was barely a brush of lips and lasted less than a moment, but the kiss startled them both. For a few moments that seemed like a lifetime they simply stared at each other and he wondered if she was going to slap him or at least give him a lecture on the fact he already had a girlfriend.

But when she opened her mouth she only asked, almost silently, "What did you do that for?"

"I wanted you to feel something real," he replied, "and I guess I needed to feel something real too." And before she could comprehend his meaning (although her mind was going much slower than usual now) he got up and left the library, "I'll see you off at the train station tomorrow!" He called over his shoulder.

_Well that was unexpected, _he thought to himself, when he'd imagined talking to her it hadn't ended like that, and they still needed to talk about their relationship, more than ever now. _But it can wait, _he resolved, they'd talk after she'd met the Wizard and would doubtless be offered to become his second in command, but she'd be back to study for it within a week, he'd talk to her then.

They had plenty of time.


End file.
